This invention relates to apparatus arranged for floating on the surface of an effluent stream such as in a sewage system for collecting substances floating in said stream for subsequent analysis or the like, as may be required for pollution control or related purposes.
Effluent streams as in a closed sewage system must be monitored to determine the nature of substances floating in the stream. It has been found that this is best accomplished by apparatus having particular structural attributes including an arrangement which floats on the stream and is adapted for collecting the substances floating therein. The apparatus best be hydrodynamically shaped to accommodate the flow current in the effluent stream, and should include a tethering feature which permits said apparatus to rise and fall with the level of the stream. The buoyancy of the device should be adjustable, as may be required from time-to-time.
The present inventors are aware of the following prior art which relates generally to the subject matter of their invention as herein disclosed: U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,788 (Apr. 24, 1956); U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,392 (Sep. 4, 1979); U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,892 (Apr. 24, 1990); U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,692 (Sep. 5, 1989); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,968 (Dec. 30, 1986).
U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,778 relates to a sewer sampler featuring a pair of closely spaced screens joined at their forward ends in a point. A weir extends across the rear ends of the screens and a large container is positioned on the side of the weir opposite the screens. A narrow channel connects the screens and a container. The arrangement is disposed in a concrete chamber, and to opposite ends of which chamber inlet and outlet lines are connected. The weir extends across the chamber nearer the outlet line than the inlet line and is secured to the side walls of the chamber by angle irons or the like to which the weir is bolted and which, in turn, are bolted to the side walls of the chamber. Apparently, the apparatus is designed for a specific use, i.e. determining the loss in sewage of uranium as to which there may be requirements for inventory and accountability and is seen to be structurally different than the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,392 relates to an automatic water/sewer sampler. The invention features a totally immersible, rechargeable, battery powered arrangement and is constructed for suspension under water at a raw water inlet. Samples are collected in vacuum flasks apparently via suction. There is no structural equivalence between this apparatus and the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,892 relates to apparatus for detecting oil and other lighter than water contaminants in an effluent stream in a sewage system. The apparatus features a disposable detector which floats on the effluent stream and detects contaminants having a specific gravity lighter than the water by absorbing the contaminants in an oleophilic material, thereby permitting the contaminants to rise and collect in a collection tube. Other than the fact that the apparatus features a floatable member, there is no structural relation between the apparatus and the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,692 is a companion to the aforenoted U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,892 and appears to differ only in an arrangement wherein the detecting apparatus is held in a sewage system by a security system which indicates whether the detector has been tampered with since it was installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,968 relates to an effluent sampler including a collection container mounted within an effluent conduit and a dipper for periodically and automatically sampling an effluent stream. A collecting cup collects a portion of a cumulative sample for analysis. The collection container is shaped to fit within an aperture of the effluent conduit and extends both inside and outside the conduit. The dipper is mounted to the container inside the conduit for protection, and the collecting cup associated with the container is attached outside the conduit for access to the cumulative sample. The sampler includes a compressed air system for clearing the dipper and another compressed air system for intermixing the cumulative sample therewithin. There is no structural relation between this device and the present invention.
It will be readily discerned that while the prior art devices relate generally to apparatus for sampling and/or detecting substances in a sewage system and/or an effluent stream, they do not have the structural attributes of the present invention as aforenoted and do not teach the particular structural configuration herein disclosed.